BJP Gets Majority In UP's Rampur, Dominated By Samajwadi Party's Azam Khan Since 2002

In a huge defeat for Samajwadi Party the Bharatiya Janata Party has won in Uttar Pradesh's Rampur Assembly constituency, Rampur previously was a stronghold of the Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan and his family, however, the Akhilesh Yadav-led party has claimed that people were not allowed to vote and were beaten with sticks so that they would not cast their vote. Also as per reports, the constituency had recorded dismal voter turnout, with less than 40 per cent of eligible voters turning up at the polling stations.

By-election in Rampur Sadar was conducted due to the disqualification of SP MLA and leader Azam Khan following his conviction in a 2019 hate speech case.

The win in Rampur is a massive victory for the BJP, as the region has a size-able Muslim population. This win is a first for BJP as it has never won the seat, while Azam Khan and his family members have won itrepeatedly since 2002. Azam Khan himself won the seat between the years of 1980 and 1993 on tickets by different parties.

Khan's family members have claimed that the police threatened, harassed and stopped people from voting.

Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party has also blamed the police of preventing its supporters from voting.

Two days before the results of the by-poll the Samajwadi Party legislators had disrupted proceedings at the Uttar Pradesh Assembly, alleging the "murder of democracy" at the bypolls in Rampur Sadar.

"Democracy was put to shame", a party legislator said.

However, the state government denied the charges.

In the Rampur Sadar assembly segment, the BJP fielded the son of former party legislator Shiv Bahadur Saxena, Akash Saxena against Azam Khan's protege Asim Raja.